


Incipient Moments

by JadeFlicker



Series: One Piece 20 Years At Sea [3]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Day 3: Friendship, F/M, First Meetings, Foosha Village, Friendship, Hint of Shanks/Makino, Kid Fic, Pre-Canon, Red Hair Pirates, Tumblr: 20yearsatsea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-11-23 16:38:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11406339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadeFlicker/pseuds/JadeFlicker
Summary: The way this little boy loved people, with a deep devotion and a steady loyalty, was a treasure in itself.(Luffy as a kid isn't really different than as he is now.If Makino is going to be slotted into a throwaway mother/big sister figure by Oda, I'm gonna expand on it.And Shanks is an asshole. We ALL knew this.)





	Incipient Moments

**Author's Note:**

> Third contribution to the One Piece 20 Years At Sea anniversary event, I want to focus on the first of Luffy's friendships (that we know of) that had to have changed Luffy's life. Also, maybe explore Makino a little more/continue from that snippet in my _Take It From Another Savior_ fic.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

 

Everyone in Foosha Village knew Garp.

 

They were a small and quiet rural community with an ever-dwindling population. As time went on, young people and young families moved to the city, drawn to the opportunities the Goa Kingdom’s capital offered.

 

Makino only vaguely understood the draw, but maybe that’s also because she understood loneliness. As more and more families moved away, there was simply less children around. Her childhood was one surrounded by a village of adults who acted as a collective support system. Foosha raised her. And this was especially true after her parents both passed away.

 

In those days when she could do nothing but stare into a middling distance, mind blank, the community came together and took care of her. When she could do nothing, could barely function, they tried to provide her with comfort and everything she needed. They took her in, cared for her, each family and household and person contributing in some way to try to comfort her. How could she do anything but love them back and try to help as much as she could in return?

 

She remembered Garp, the huge man who was always smiling and willing to indulge her with another story. Bigger than life, everyone called him Garp the Hero, and the villagers looked to him and the Marines as their protectors. He always made sure to pat her head fondly with a huge paw and tell her to come to him if she had any boy problems. He would set those brats straight. After all, she was such a dutiful, beautiful, and helpful girl. She would grow up to be a beautiful young woman, and deserved to have a man worthy of her.

 

It always drew a giggle from her. She didn’t see him very often, but when he was around, he was like her very own eccentric grandfather. He doted on her and brushed off her reminders to take care of herself, laughing boisterously and without restraint. At the beginning of her life, he was simply part of the village community, and she never questioned his place in it. To all the world, he was Garp the Hero. But to Makino, he was simply one of the villagers whose personality was too big to just stay in Foosha Village alone. There was nothing complicated about the straightforward man.

 

It was the view of an ignorant child. And she learned just how ignorant three years after Garp was dubbed as the ‘Hero’.

 

She remembered the day the mayor rushed to where she was doing laundry in clear, distinct detail. There was something about that day that electrified her, made her feel more awake. But by all standards, it was a perfectly normal day. At least, right up until a fierce wind abruptly picked up and the sky suddenly darkened. Like spilled ink on paper, a torrent of pitch-black clouds poured like a swift avalanche across the blue sky. It sounded like what she imagined one would too, an ominous thundering in the distance sending a shiver through bones. With a blink, the sun was gone and, by all means, it could have been nighttime. Staring up incomprehensibly, she jerked to awareness when a worried Woop Slap roughly grabbed her arm, making her drop the basket she was holding, and started pulling her back to his house.

 

“Makino, get inside!” he ordered, out of breath. She let him pull her along, seeing the nervous sweat pouring down his face and a sharp tension in the older man’s body that she’d never seen before. “There’s a storm coming.”

 

“Mayor, what’s going on?” she questioned, eyes flickering back up to the sky. “I’ve never seen clouds like these before! Or storm clouds come in this quickly…Have you ever seen anything like this before?”

 

“Not in a long while,” the mayor muttered, though he didn’t quite seem to be addressing her. Quickly pushing Makino into the house, he quickly started barking out instructions. “Village-wide hurricane protocols have been enacted. Lock all the doors and board up all the windows. Check to make sure we have enough storm supplies to last a couple of days. And whatever you do, DO NOT go near the windows until I say it is alright! Do you understand me, Makino?!”

 

Eyes wide, she was helpless to do anything but nod at the panic barely buried by Woop Slap’s curt briskness.

 

* * *

 

 

Of course she looked. Despite what many people thought, Makino had a mischievous streak a mile wide and a sneaky nosiness that most overlooked when faced with an innocent, charming smile. Nothing bad of course, just a love for secrets and the small, occasional bit of playfulness here and there. So though no one would ever know, Makino had gotten a look at the strangers that Garp and Woop Slap had tried to prevent anyone in the village from seeing.

 

Three days after the storm started, the thundering and winds abruptly stopped as suddenly as it started. The sudden lack of rattling from the roof and windowpanes was disconcerting for the first few seconds. Silence reigned and the very air in the house seemed to suddenly clear. Makino was jerked from her dozing state to full wakefulness as the heavy humidity of the past few days disputed so rapidly that the resulting bout of fresh air left her momentarily breathless, feeling almost like it had been knocked out of her. In the intense silence and increased awareness of her surroundings, she just barely caught the creak of someone moving downstairs. But that couldn’t be. Glancing at the ticking clock hanging on the wall, she confirmed that it was indeed just a few hours past midnight.

 

If the Mayor had needed to make midnight water, the bathrooms were upstairs with them. If he had needed a drink or something from the kitchens, he would have been in the back of the house, not the front where Makino’s rooms were built over. There was no reason for him to be downstairs in the front of the house this late at night. She stilled as soft, muffled voices reached her ears, far away and distorted.

 

Interest and curiosity immediately piqued, Makino carefully slipped out from beneath her covers. Sliding across the floor on the balls of her feet, avoiding the creaking spots, the young girl moved up to her window and slowly pulled the bottom corner of the curtain away from the sill. When needing to be sneaky, the trick with curtains was that you didn’t twitch or pull it aside, but instead pulled them outward and away from the pane just enough so that you could get a visual. Crouched with her back to the wall next to her window, Makino peered between the wooden slabs used for storm proofing and her slightly pulled back curtain to see Woop Slap standing at the front door with three other people.

 

She could hear some sound, wordless and meaningless. They were speaking so softly that she couldn’t even hear the tone of their words from here, even though she could derive that they were saying _something._ One figure she could immediately recognize as Garp, though he seemed like so much of a stranger in his dark clothes and the unusually tense frown. The other two were dressed in formless, drab green cloaks that made the pair more like specters than anything else. The shorter of the cloaked pair stepped closer to Woop Slap, towering over the mayor as they said something that made everyone in the group tense. In the light of the door and the angle they were standing at, Makino thought that the shorter figure may have sharp, red markings down one dark-skinned cheek. But it was only a glimpse and soon gone as they turned away.

 

But things really seem to come to a head when the larger and bulkier of the two figures stepped forward. Hood falling away, Makino was surprised and fascinated to see that it was a _woman_. One with proportions of the like she’d never seen. Garp was a large man and the other cloaked figure dwarfed the mayor, but this woman was by far the largest. She was plain-looking; a round face, light skin, round eyes, small and indistinct nose to the point of nonexistence, barely any brow, short neck, and a bush of curly, brown hair. All in all, her face alone seemed to lack any kind of distinctive features. But what was most fascinating was the strange woman’s almost alien physical dimensions. Unlike Makino’s own delicate features and hourglass figure, the dimensions simply seem to be _larger_ and more heavyset, with her head being disproportionately large. Whatever her figure was underneath her cloak, she was bulky and thick and—at this moment, where there was a firm set in her shoulders and a controlled tension in her face—strong.

 

Pulling a tiny, cloth wrapped bundle from underneath her cloak, she bent down and pressed her face into the package that sat dwarfed in her gloved hands. Then, carefully, she passed it to Garp. Something about the woman’s stiff features and concentrated expression reminded Makino of a spider web of cracks on a window. Looking firm right up until pressed too hard in the wrong spot, then the glass would slash out at you. Really, she just seemed…

 

Tired.

 

Unfortunately, Makino didn’t get to muse about it for very long, nor did the woman seemed to have a chance to rest. With a nod, the woman pulled her hood back over her head and both cloaked figures drifted swiftly back into the shadows. She didn’t even see them disappear into the swaying darkness of the island, they were just simply gone.

 

She wondered who they were.

 

* * *

 

 

Luffy, too, was raised by the village.

 

She wasn’t quite sure how to classify her relationship to Luffy. In a sense, he was her younger brother. He too, was raised by their community. For him as well, the villagers came together to raise him as part of their extensive support network. They had learned the same lessons, had gotten the same treatment, and learned the same loneliness of being the only child in a village where people still had their own lives to live. There was a sense of kinship between them, because while they were always taken care of, one could still feel lonely in a crowd. It was the sense of being part of the community, but not part of a tight-knit family. From that angle, Luffy was both luckier and unluckier than her. Makino knew how it felt, had once had that family and the unshakeable sense of belonging. Luffy never had It at all. And because of that kinship, she never minded that he tagged along with her, never minded that he didn’t tend to drift far from where she was even while he played.

 

But as a result, she ended up taking care of Luffy the most. That first morning, when she had come downstairs to the kitchen to see Woop Slap struggling to feed a baby, she had nearly laughed at the mayor’s suffering face and the many, many empty bottles scattered around. Many were disturbed by the baby’s appetite, but Makino had watched Garp eat throughout her life and had listened to his stories. If this child was Garp’s grandson like the Mayor said he was, then of course the child would have a large appetite.

 

Everyone helped and contributed and took turns babysitting, but it was Makino the baby had cried for. It was Makino that the toddler had spoken his first word to (it was blue). And it was Makino the young boy went to when hurt or excited or hungry or bothered. When Luffy got in trouble, she was the one who pulled him aside because Luffy minded her best. Over time, the other villagers noticed and would come to her or Woop Slap with their Luffy-shaped problems. It’s not like they could go to Garp about it very often, he was hardly ever there. And most times when he was, they were too embarrassed to confront him and Luffy both adored and was terrified of the larger man. So in that way, Luffy was also like her charge or her child.

 

When Makino started working at the Party Bar, Luffy was there. He sat at the counter’s corner and chattered with the more amiable (and less amiable) customers as she served. If she needed to run an errand for the mistress and owner, Luffy would follow her. It was during one such errand where she needed to pick up a shipment of ingredients for the shop that she noticed the boy’s unusual strength and endurance. Determined to be “a proper man” and “take care of Makino” like Garp had told him to on multiple occasions, the younger Monkey insisted and succeeded in carrying far more of her heavy loads than a child should be able to.

 

Even if, as a result, he occasionally also accidentally broke some things (a chair, merchandise, an entire stall…) in the process.

 

After some time, arthritis and a forgetful memory forced the Party Bar’s previous mistress to be confined to her home and a live-in nurse, Makino took up running the tavern in its entirety. And no matter how stressful it was or how busy she became, Luffy was there for her. Always smiling, always so bright, and always so protective against anyone he thought even _slightly_ bothered or was rude to her. She had never been unhappy in Foosha, but Luffy brought a facet and a liveliness to her days that hadn’t ever been there before. To Luffy, she may be many things. But to her, he was two things and two things only. The village may be a family, but Luffy was her friend and _her **family**_.

 

Cheerfully greeting Luffy as he burst through the doors, already chattering a story to her about his day with Woop Slap and one of the neighbors who owed a windmill at the edge of town, Makino was content to fix him up an afternoon snack and just listen to his excitement about one new thing or another. In the future, she hoped her child would be just like him. And no matter what, she knew this little boy would care for and love her child as much as he loved her now. The way this little boy loved people, with a deep devotion and a steady loyalty, was a treasure in itself.

 

* * *

 

 

It was such a little town, and if Shanks didn’t know better he would say it was abandoned.

 

But the windmills turned and he could see signs of life even without Observation Haki. If the cared for animals and meticulously tended dirt pathways weren’t obvious enough, he could spot movements in the windows. It seemed this just wasn’t a pirate friendly town.

 

And why would they be? This close to the Goa Kingdom’s capital city, no doubt there were plenty of Marines and soldiers sailing around and patrolling the coast. If not for the citizens, then for the trading ships passing by. Actually, the last he checked, Garp was from this area of the East Blue. A bonus, as nothing said “fuck you” quite like taking a respite in your home waters, the last place you’d look.

 

Chuckling in amusement at his own cleverness, he flicked up the edge of his straw hat fondly as he looked over his crew unloading the empty barrels and crates from the Red Force. Soon, they’d have to coax one of the locals out and try to buy some supplies. Probably talk down at least one bold villager telling them they weren’t welcome and that they needed to leave _right_. NOW. Actually, he was expecting something of the like at any minute now. Looking down the streets to see if anyone was approaching them (or if there were any soldiers who were ready to ambush them why hello paranoia), Shanks couldn’t help the annoyed twist of his lip as something _itched_ at the edge of his senses. Whatever it was, it caused him to look down and, suddenly, there was a black-haired little boy staring back up at him with a blank look in his wide eyes.

 

“Eh?” he made a questioning sound with a disbelieving, sort-of smile (vaguely shaped liked one) on his face. Blinking hard a few more times…nope, still there. In watching out for enemies, he (and everyone else) had somehow missed a kid walking right up to the Red Hair captain. And as the realization really struck, Shanks finally reacted and nearly jumped out of his skin altogether with a full-on, taken aback shriek. “EEEHHH?!”

 

Ben was never going to let him live this down.

 

‘Oh Sea Lady’s _cunt_ ,’ the red-haired man cursed silently in his head because he was _wheezing_ and had a hand gripping over the place where his heart was thundering. What the actual _fuck_? Where did the kid even come from and was Shanks getting _that old_?! Because that felt reasonably like a heart attack.

 

“Hey mister,” the brat piped up like he wasn’t some sort of little imp spawn that all children were.

 

And the thing was…Shanks has been a pirate for most of his life now. Before that, he was a no-name kid on the docks who fought with other kids for the scraps. He just didn’t _do **kids**_ , even when he was a little brat himself. Not to brag, but he was a scary motherfucker, okay? Even as a cabin boy, people knew messing with him had consequences. Mothers kept their bratlings away from him and the street gangs avoided him and this kid was just looking at him without any kind of fear.

 

…Actually, the older man couldn’t even tell what the kid was thinking. The blank look was starting to freak him out a little.

 

“…He…llo?” he hedged cautiously. Looking out of the corner of his eye, he could see some of his men snickering, the bastards. First chance available, he was drowning them all.

 

_What was he suppose to do with this thing?_

 

And the kid just…stared up at him a small, confused frown and a thoughtful (disappointed?) furrow in his brow. Hmmm’ing in thought, he tilted his head in examination before then sticking a thoughtless finger up his nose and starting to pick.

 

Shank’s own eye started twitching at the show of his disrespect and he reminded himself that only real assholes punted kids off docks.

 

Hmmm’ing again, the boy then asked doubtfully, “Are you a pirate?”

 

“…Hah?” Shanks made an incredulous noise in disbelief. Because, well…he made a pointed look at the hulking _ship_ with his Jolly Rogers stamped on the sail they were _standing right next to_. “Well, do I look like a pirate to you, brat?”

 

“Nope,” was the immediate, blunt answer.

 

At this point, their little exchange had attracted the majority of his crew. They whole lot of them were either standing around the docks or lined up along the Red Force like a bunch of stupid bums. And unfortunately, they had altogether given up the pretense of pretending they were ruthless pirates of the sea who respected their feared captain and were sprawled around in barely contained, barely muffled laughter like lackwits.

 

 _Drowning_. In the _Calm Belt_.

 

“Are you really a monster?” the brat piped up again, still picking his nose. “Grandpa says all pirates are monsters, but you don’t look like one.”

 

Ooooo, so that’s how it was like. Too young to know any fear of the old cross-and-bones, but having heard enough tales and lack enough caution to act on his curiosity.

 

Shanks traded a bedraggled, amused look with Benn and snickered, “Did your Grandpa say pirates were gonna eat you too?”

 

The boy nodded, “Eyup.”

 

Oh, he was gonna have fun with this.

 

The red-haired man smirked and glanced over his shoulder at his casually lounging first mate.

 

“What do you think, Benn?” he asked mockingly. “It’s been a while since we’ve had ‘bratty kid’ on the menu, right? Dunno if he’d really be much of a meal though…”

 

“I’m sure we can at least get a good soup stock out of him, Captain,” Benn drawled with an equally amused smirk.

 

They both turned back to see that the boy was now staring up at them with wide eyes in alarm. He was frozen and his mouth had dropped up in his shock, but at least the nose-picking had stopped. Barely managing to not snicker, Shanks leaned down threateningly, amused as he kid quavered under the shadow he cast

 

“What’d you think, brat?” he let his voice dip down to an ominous rumble. “Wanna explore our kitchens?”

 

“LUFFY!”

 

Shanks jerked back up, startled as a young, green-haired woman practically flew down the street towards them. If she were any less graceful, he’d call her sudden, panting stop in front of them skidding. But stop gracefully she did, bandanna keeping most her hair back and utilitarian clothes only slightly skewed as she faced off with him. 

 

She was a pretty little thing, and clearly nervous. But she tucked up her chin, pressed her lips in a determined line, and stared back at him head-on. The entire crew was focused on her and—from the way she seemed sweat harder—was clearly aware of it. However, it wasn’t going to deter her, as the young woman had immediately identified him as the go-to leader (or head offender) and had locked onto him. For all that she had the look of the usual pretty, wide-eyed village girl, there was a surprisingly edge in those of eyes that spoke of a spine of steel.

 

“Hello!” she greeted politely with dipping, slight bow as if they were just a passerbyers on the street rather than a crew “I’m apologize for anything Luffy has said or done. He’s young and a child and doesn’t mean anything by it!”

 

The boy, Luffy, on the other hand, was frantic. Seeming to have broken out of his stupor, he scrambled wildly over to the young woman and grabbed at her skirt. Hiding behind her legs, he looked up at her with wide, watering eyes as whatever preservation instinct he seemed to have finally kicked in.

 

“M-m-Makino!!!!” he bawled, tugging insistently. “MAKINO! WHAT GRANDPA SAID WAS TRUE! THEY’RE GONNA EAT ME UP, THAT GUY _SAID SO_!”

 

At that, the crew finally lost their collective shit and burst out into gales of laughter. Tears were cried, mates were clinging to each other and things for balance, and some of the laughter was bordering on hysterical and helpless. Even Ben was shaking in quiet laughter. To say nothing of Shanks throwing his head back and howling so hard that he almost fell on his ass. This only served to frighten the boy even further, clearly thinking they were even more determined to eat him now, and annoying the young woman.

 

“Hey! That’s not nice!” Makino scolded, her hands now on her hips as she frowned at them. “Luffy’s too young to know you’re joking! And whatever he’s done doesn’t warrant being scared half to death by grown men who should know better than to bully a seven-year-old! Apologize!”

 

Oh geez, and now he was being scolded like a child. Half-heartedly waving at his crew to pipe down as he wheezed, Shanks gave the young lady a sheepish smile even as he was still guffawing. Her frown deepened; which wasn’t fair because she still managed to be very pretty about it. Finally catching his breath, he dropped into a crouch, reaching up to adjust his hat so that it didn’t cast as many threatening shadows over his face, and grinned toothily at this boy. Luffy, on his part, was still peering at him suspiciously from halfway behind the young woman’s skirt. Even while mostly hidden, the captain could see that he had his feet planted tensely and a stance set wide enough to show some flavor of stubbornness.

 

“We’re kidding, we’re kidding, kid!” Shanks chortled apologetically, though he couldn’t hide his amusement. “We don’t eat scrawny brats. Any pirate actually worth their salt will prefer a nice vintage of booze and actual food, not some brat with barely any meat on them.”

 

“…Really?” Luffy asked suspiciously, but was coming out from behind Makino’s legs a little more.

 

Shanks nodded firmly, “Really.”

 

The boy seemed to give this some thought, his face twisted in indecisiveness and confusion, before hesitatingly volunteered, “…I like meat.”

 

“Of course you do!” Shanks grin widened. “What brat doesn’t like meat!”

 

And for the first time, the brat smiled back at him. It instantly took up half of the kid’s face, lighting it up and causing a curl of nostalgia to settle in Shank’s stomach. “I’m Luffy!”

 

“Dahahahaha!” the captain of the Red Hair Pirates guffawed. “I’m Shanks, captain of these lot of vapid, stinkin’ sea-slugs. And yeah, brat, I’m a pirate. But I don’t eat short brats.” Looking up at the young woman giving him a friendlier look (if still a bit gently exasperated) he gave her another sheepish smile. “And you, brave miss?”

 

She giggled, and it was such a sweet sound.

 

“I’m Makino,” she introduced herself warmly. “It’s nice to meet you, Captain-san.”

 

Pushing himself back onto his feet, he continued chatting with Luffy as the boy drew out from behind Makino’s skirt. Curiosity was obviously winning out, as awe shone in the kid’s eyes and he ventured closer and closer. By the time the mayor was marching up to them determinedly (and waylaid by an appeasing Makino), the excitable boy was practically standing on Shank’s sandaled foot. Concerned with the angry yelling and cane-waving going on, he glanced towards the commotion to see if he needed to step in. Noticing, the young woman Makino caught his eye and shook her head slightly. Shanks grinned. They had come to resupply, but had found some good friends instead. You really never knew what you’d find on a new island.

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr](https://jflicker.tumblr.com/)


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